Bleached shirt tutorial

How to use bleach to create a shirt design

Hi guys!

Today, I have a tutorial to show you how to use bleach creatively to design a piece of clothing.

Lately, I have seen a tonne of variations of this method around and about online, however I wanted to add a bit of delicacy to mine and actually create a pattern, rather than using a block stencil.

This is a great way to reuse or spice up old pieces of clothing that you might not wear anymore to re-introduce into your wardrobe.

What you will need

• A piece of clothing you wish to bleach-You need to take into account the colour that the clothing will turn once it is bleached. For example, black turns brown and maroon turns light pink, So do some tests on some scrap fabric before you begin.
• A spray bottle- with a nozzle that allows that contents to spray in a mist, rather than a jet.
• Bleach- (If your bleach is thick or is too strong, then dilute it with water, which is what I did. This also helps the spray to be dispersed more evenly, and you don't need as much bleach).
• Masking tape- You only need this if you are planning to block parts of your design off and to leave clean, straight lines where there is no bleach. For example, I used it to cover over my buttons .
• A craft knife- You need this to make the cut outs for the stencil.
• Acetate- Or some other material for stencil making. I used acetate because I can wash it off and then reuse it for other projects. Because it is clear it is also easier to position it where you want it on your clothing item.

Method

1. First, you need to find a pattern that you want to use. It should have enough negative space, so that it is distinguishable when the bleaching process is complete. I wanted a fairly complex design, so I found a nice lace pattern here.

2. Either print the pattern or just keep it up on the screen. Hold your acetate up to the pattern and draw around the design with a sharpie or other permanent marker that is thick enough so that you can see it when you are cutting out.

3.Your design should look something like this when you are finished tracing it. At this point it is easier to make your design simpler if needed. I missed out a few of the intricate details to make it easier for myself later in the cutting process. you also need to be aware of any areas that are disconnected, because you are more likely to cut them and the stencil will fall apart. 

To avoid this, when you are cutting, leave little strips of acetate joining disconnected pieces. If you can see, at the bottom of my piece that I cut out (the squiggly strip), I left it joined at the bottom, so the stencil remains in one solid piece.

4.The next step is to to mask off any parts that you don't want exposed to the bleach with the masking tape.

I just wanted to restrict the bleach, so it didn't splatter too far up the shirt. I also blocked off the buttons and button holes so they had a clean edge.

5. Once your clothing item is prepped, you're ready to start spraying. Place the stencil over the parts of the shirt that you want bleaching and spray the bleach directly over the stencil, so it doesn't leak under the stencil.

6. Open a window so you don't fume yourself to death. Repeat the bleaching process as many times as your design require. I repeated mine 3 times across the hem of the shirt.

Between each use of the stencil, rinse your stencil under water and dry it so that when you put back on to a piece of untouched material, the bleach doesn't spread where you don't want it because it will ruin your design. Let the bleach dry overnight to get the maximum effect as it will get paler the longer you leave it on the fabric.

This is what my shirt looked like when it still wasn't fully dried yet. As you can see, the areas where the design was close together lost some detail as it leaked into each other. I quite liked this though because it gave the shirt a kind of loose tie-dye effect, but with some detail left in so that you can still see a clear pattern.

Once the shirt has finished drying and you are happy with your design, rinse it in cold water to stop the bleach spreading any further. The first time you wash your item, you must make sure that it is in the machine by itself so it doesn't ruin your other clothes. After that you can mix it back in with your other clothes.

Now you are ready to wear your new and improved shirt!

I also think it would be really cool if the sleeves were dip dyed so there is a gradient of colour climbing up the arms. Maybe that's one for the future!
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Make sure to keep checking back and thanks for joining me!!

Harry x